PGA Tour: Twelve Days of Christmas: Notes from the Ballwasher

First topic message reminder :

With the time of sunset, here at least, now becoming later by the day there is northern hemisphere optimism that one of the most dismal facets of winter is at least improving, (even if sunrise is still also creeping later for another week or two).

And the Twelve Days of Christmas will be starting soon so here are some thoughts as to what else is going on apart from:

1).A partridge in a pear tree? Or the number of Tour wins each for Fowler and Spieth. Extend it to stroke play Tour wins and include Day and Poulter too. Wouldn't bet against at least three of those four (sorry Poults) securing win number two in 2015, but we'd've thought that last year also.

2).Two turtle doves? Or the number of times Tiger Woods completed 72 holes in a Tour event in 2014. Surely we can expect more in 2015, but how much more?

3).Three French hens? Or the number of notable golfing trees removed from the landscape this year.
~The Eisenhower Tree on #17 at Augusta.
~The tree overhanging the 6th tee at TPC.
~And last week's storm brought down one of the cypress trees guarding Pebble Beach's 18th fairway.

4).Four calling birds? Or Augusta National, Chambers Bay, St.Andrews, Whistling Straits, major venues all in 2015. Very interested in seeing Chambers Bay - don't know anything about it. Not sure I much care for Majors being played at courses that haven't been tried and tested by Father Time or the Pros, but more of the same due soon when the US Open rolls in to Erin Hills.

5).Five golden rings? Well, not all golden exactly, but we should know fairly soon if the Olympic golf course will be ready in time for the five Olympic rings to be circling around it in Brazil. What a farce it will be if the course is not suitable, or in suitable condition, for Gold Medal competition.

6).Six geese-a-laying? Or the six strokes by which Jordan Spieth won the Aussie Open. Not sure whether the appropriate yardstick for this was a 6-stroke win over luminaries such as Scott and McIlroy, or that his closest pursuer was Rod Pampling. Remember him?

7).Seven swans-a-swimming? Or the number of strokes Brad Fritsch won by at web.com Q-School. Good for him, very unlucky to have lost his PGA Tour card each of the past two years having had to withdraw from several events due to back problems. The perils of journeymen playing while nursing injuries.

8).Eight maids-a-milking? Or just eight months (more like seven full months really) for Tour Pros to earn their cards for 2015/2016. There are two more events this season than last, but so far no-one has accrued sufficient points to qualify to join otherwise exempt players. Lots of speculation that the West Coast Swing will be weaker this year as players take a break, but the other side of the coin is "notable" pros adding early events to their schedule in the hope of achieving some sort of comfort level asap. Messrs Donald and Poulter may fall in to that category.

9).Nine ladies dancing? Or nine plus three ladies dancing with the Solheim Cup as battle is joined in Germany; Carin Koch and Juli Inkster are the Captains, and if the competition is half as exciting as last year's, it will be some show. So long as the Europeans win, of course.  

10).Ten lords-a-leaping? Or the ten drinkies consumed by Jeff Overton at a College Basketball game recently before being escorted from the premises by Madison Square Garden arena security. Boom Baby more likely to receive a gardening leave notice from Tim Finchem than a Christmas Card.

11).Eleven pipers piping? Or eleven US Ryder Cup Task Force members piping the "Call for Freddie" tune. Who knows what will come of that; will Fred even answer the phone (as he's usually loth to do "in case there's someone there")?  

12).Twelve drummers drumming? My favourite drummers in 2014 were named Bjorn, Donaldson, Dubuisson, Gallacher, Garcia, Kaymer, McDowell, McIlroy, Poulter, Rose, Stenson, Westwood.


Perhaps by the time these notes resurface Tommy Fleetwood will have qualified for The Masters, Tony Jacklin will be celebrating a much-overdue knighthood and all of us will have enjoyed a safe and festive off-season.
Happy Christmas.

"If you call on God to improve the results of a shot while it is still in motion, you are using an 'outside agency' and subject to appropriate penalties under the rules of golf". - Henry Longhurst.
You tell 'em Henry!

I can't think of any religious church going neighbors who would sit down and pray if my house was on fire.  

I don't how many logical fallacies that argument touches but strawman and reductio ad absurdum are at least two of them.

I guess you have never had a Ruth Chris Steak.  Or been to a New York deli.

Again, USA doesn't necessarily invent these things.  We perfect them!

I guess most of us would prefer to live next to someone like ourselves.

Without looking into statistics it is evident that religion takes up much more of US society than European. From sports, to politics, the president, schools, civil rights (gay/abortion), even on the banknotes.

As I've pointed out before, if public religious statements by US sports stars (eg. Bubba, Zach) would have been made by muslims they'd be on their way to in Gizmo before you could say 'hippocrite'.

It's sometimes hard to comprehend why Iran and others are labled religious extremist states, as the mix of religion and politics in the US is second to... well maybe only Iran.

Unsubstantiated reports emerging from Florida that Tiger Woods has received a 39th birthday card from someone called super_realist, Aberdeen.

Pedro - 

The separation of church and state is prevalent in the US and lots of different groups practice as such. Most of those I know simply roll their eyes at evangelical blowhards; but live and let live.

More people worship money more than anything else in these United States (in my observation).

To compare the US to extremist states where public practice of any religion other than a specific one is absurd.

Even more than the last few years this, IMO, will be a defining one for Mr. Woods in his quest to overtake Jack Nicklaus on professional majors. He'll have to get through Rory, which I simply do not see happening.

Hasnt America got bigger problems then Religion, such as keeping the death penalty, and the issues becoming more frequent or public, of black youths being killed by the police. America may be a generally religious country, but it also allows gays to marry, and a mosque to be built in Manhattan, ( against many wishes).

Sr,
Don't want to extend the religion discussion but, in the interest of accuracy, even you must admit that religion is used by many politicians, especially in the South and Mid-West, as code for racism, anti-women, anti-gay, and anti-poverty.
And that is where such phenomena as income inequality, dismal life expectancy, inadequate education, anti-abortion, anti-gay rhetoric and policies prevail.

puligny wrote:"If you call on God to improve the results of a shot while it is still in motion, you are using an 'outside agency' and subject to appropriate penalties under the rules of golf". - Henry Longhurst.
You tell 'em Henry!

Hey Puligny, sounds like you might have received the same desk calendar I got last Christmas - a page per day with a golfing thought on each one !  You just quoted December 29th.  Today's little gem is "One hundred years of experience has demonstrated that the game is temporary insanity practiced in a pasture".  Made in China and probably not 100% accurate but some good quotes.

Plunky spot on. Am now travelling with remaining days so don't miss the excitement!
Have a good 15 everyone.

Kwin - No issues in extending the discussion. I would simply suggest you consider the two term democratic pro-gay, (obviously anti-racism), pro-universal health care, liberal-minded President as more indicative of things as a whole in these United States. Polarization, however, seemingly at an all time high (at least in my lifetime).

Politics in South Korea, or at least enforcement of policy, may disrupt Sang-Moon Bae in the not too distant future, with Rotoworld reporting Bae may be subject soon to two years National Service.
I wonder how "liberal" the PGA Tour will allow themselves to be if Bae is effectively unable to take advantage of his 2-year exemption.
Would hope they'd allow him to postpone his TOC exemption and prevail upon Billy Payne and the PGA to postpone his Major exemptions.
Is there a modern-day precedent here?

GPB wrote:I guess you have never had a Ruth Chris Steak.  Or been to a New York deli.

Again, USA doesn't necessarily invent these things.  We perfect them!

Seriously, try to live in the real world! What have you been drinking over the festive period??

navyblueshorts wrote:

GPB wrote:I guess you have never had a Ruth Chris Steak.  Or been to a New York deli.

Again, USA doesn't necessarily invent these things.  We perfect them!

Seriously, try to live in the real world! What have you been drinking over the festive period??

NBS...I rarely drink anymore. but sometimes absurdity from your side of the pond needs to be returned with a cross court winner.

Absurdity like attacks on golfers beliefs, their given names, the number of chins

It like a bunch of sorority mean girls making fun of the plain Janes.  Its juvenile and sophomoric and totally pollutes what is otherwise a pretty good blog.

GPB wrote:I guess you have never had a Ruth Chris Steak.  Or been to a New York deli.

Again, USA doesn't necessarily invent these things.  We perfect them!

They aren't American "Cuisine" just because you've eaten it in America.

for example, just having a steak from an American Deli, isn't American Cuisine, Cuisine would actually be a speciality dish, like Coq au Vin,

beninho wrote:Hasnt America got bigger problems then Religion, such as keeping the death penalty, and the issues becoming more frequent or public, of black youths being killed by the police. America may be a generally religious country, but it also allows gays to marry, and a mosque to be built in Manhattan, ( against many wishes).

There already was a mosque in Manhattan nearer to the site of 9/11 than the proposed one, anyway, they are supposed to have freedom of speech, freedom to practice their fairy tales if they want, even if all of them are as stupid as believing in Leprechauns or Bigfoot. America would be immensely hypocritical to deny a mosque to be built somewhere.

Having the freedom to believe what you want though, doesn't mean the context of those beliefs are immune from ridicule, and if people bring them out in public, especially in the context of sporting victory and the role their self ressurecting, virgin r@ping, invisible jewish, sky zombie played in it, then they should be laughed all the way back to whichever backward gullible backwater they came from.

GPB wrote:

navyblueshorts wrote:

GPB wrote:I guess you have never had a Ruth Chris Steak.  Or been to a New York deli.

Again, USA doesn't necessarily invent these things.  We perfect them!

Seriously, try to live in the real world! What have you been drinking over the festive period??

NBS...I rarely drink anymore. but sometimes absurdity from your side of the pond needs to be returned with a cross court winner.

Absurdity like attacks on golfers beliefs, their given names, the number of chins

It like a bunch of sorority mean girls making fun of the plain Janes.  Its juvenile and sophomoric and totally pollutes what is otherwise a pretty good blog.

True maybe....but not sure what that's got to do with me just now. I'm afraid that this time your cross-court winner was in the tramlines! Anyway, suffice to say we have food with flavour as does the U.S.

super_realist wrote:

GPB wrote:I guess you have never had a Ruth Chris Steak.  Or been to a New York deli.

Again, USA doesn't necessarily invent these things.  We perfect them!

They aren't American "Cuisine" just because you've eaten it in America.

for example, just having a steak from an American Deli, isn't American Cuisine, Cuisine would actually be a speciality dish, like Coq au Vin,

Sure it is.  Improvements on a Dish is cuisine.  Otherwise, the only CUISINE would be Neanderthal Cuisine because they were the first to put a slab of meat over a fire.  (Go ahead an get pedantic, I don't know, and really too lazy to look up, who were the first humans to cook meat).

I have never been to England (or Scotland) so its all hearsay, but people that have gone to England says their food is the blandest of all places he has been.  

And I can tell you that most major cities in the USA have Italian Restaurants, French Restaurants, Mexican, German, Chinese, Japanese, Australian, Indian, Thai (and probably others).

The only English Restaurant that I ever seen is Arthur Treachers Fish and Chips.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Treacher%27s

So is that English cuisine or American?

Fish and Chips is an English thing....not American.

Come on, all you are trying to do is claim something you've eaten in America, but doesn't necessarily have roots in an American recipe, is American Cuisine, I'm sorry that America's history is so short that you don't really have heritage and you have to try and claim others, but come on, you don't have a long history of gastronomic achievement or notoriety that could be classed "cuisine" just as many countries don't.
The UK isn't famed for food either , but all countries have excellent produce available for any recipe you want, except perhaps America when it comes to cheese and chocolate.

To top it all off, everything you are saying about the UK is simply anecdotal, so simply claiming that a friend of a friend of a friend "visited Britain once and the food was bland" is about the worst basis for a discussion I've ever heard.
If I went back to America again and all I did was eat in the many soul-less and faceless fast food outlets that litter motorways and major roads, would that be an accurate reflection of "American Cuisine". Maybe I should just judge American Cuisine on Man V Food, at least it would be a better representation than your mates, mates cousins dog who once went to the UK and didn't like the food.

GPB wrote:Fish and Chips is an English thing....not American.

So are we to assume Arthur Treachers haven't "perfected" it, then? Otherwise that'd be the definition of American cuisine, as you seem to understand it.

We have restaurants here from all over the world too, and one of our favourite national dishes is based on Indian cuisine (chicken tikka massala) but we don't claim Indian as our own on that basis. We also have American 'restaurants' too, most of which you don't even have to leave your car for.  

Well I can tell you that Midwest BBQ, Biscuits and Gravy and most particularly CAJUN is uniquely American.

And Delicious!!

And the only fast food I mentioned was Arthur Treachers Fish And Chips and because the only thing could be considered English.

Well maybe an McDonalds Egg McMuffin,  Because it is an English Muffin.

Taste is another question entirely. I love roast beef for Sunday lunch, and fish and chips can be great (they can also be awful) but that doesn't mean I think British cuisine is any good. There aren't English restaurants across the globe, except maybe fish & chip restaurants, and there aren't American restaurants selling the dishes you mention. Cajun chicken is common here, so I'll give you that one, albeit somewhat begrudgingly given the amount it owes to French, Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. But to paraphrase, one dish does not a great national cuisine make.

To bring it back to Golf.
Shouldn't it be Coq au Vonn?

kwinigolfer wrote:To bring it back to Golf.
Shouldn't it be Coq au Vonn?

Although recently it must have been 'Capon au Vonn'.

I enjoy celebrating differences in culture and cuisine. And, I love fine food, beer, wine, etc. I've had overpriced and bland food in both countries (as have most of us I suspect) and also excellent regional cuisine in both countries. It all becomes a bit too muddy for me to distinctly define this is "X" country and this is not. Some highlights:

Great pub food at some celebrated gastro pubs in Surrey
Outstanding beef at a restaurant in (or right near) Smithfield's market in central London
Near life-changing fish and chips at a hole in the wall near the Turnham Green tube stop
Roast beef and yorkshire pudding at a small restaurant in Knightsbridge (sadly now gone)

When my European friends visit, we often have some Mid-Atlantic foodstuffs:

Blue Crabs from Baltimore and Crab Cakes (90% Crab)
Philadelphia Cheesteaks (possibly one of the worst for you, but best tasting items you will consume)
Scrapple (yes, scrapple)

Bottom line, with a little bit of effort you can usually find excellent options at most any price range. I travel a lot and use "Chowhound", a great resource.

One of my favorite food/golf stories is when I played Rye and we had the cold seafood buffet at lunch. VERY spartan clubhouse (but very nice), jacket and tie required ... and when they opened the buffet we had terrific food, virtually none of which I've had before or since.

For sure a lot of great food in the US with everything readily available.

But the main issue here is the food culture (or lack of), which is dodgy at best. (Cueword: BMI.)

It's not the main issue here to me .... but opine away!

I agree with Shotrock - hey, the Tailor and Cook is getting great reviews . . . . . . .

Lancashire hotpot!

pedro wrote:For sure a lot of great food in the US with everything readily available.

But the main issue here is the food culture (or lack of), which is dodgy at best. (Cueword: BMI.)

Very surprised Shane Lowry hasn't moved to the PGA next door to Kevin Stadler and Brendan De Jonge

Surely food in every country will be heavily influenced by initial conquerors or settlers. And tweaked over time. Paella, a very (southern) spanish dish, heavily influenced by the Arabs, when they settled in the country.

GPB wrote:I can't think of any religious church going neighbors who would sit down and pray if my house was on fire.  

I don't how many logical fallacies that argument touches but strawman and reductio ad absurdum are at least two of them.

I hate to be a pedant but reductio ad absurdum is not a fallacy but a tool used to expose a fallacy. It is using an example which exposes a clearly false conclusion if a line of reasoning is followed using your opponents premise.



Kwini

"Don't want to extend the religion discussion but, in the interest of accuracy, even you must admit that religion is used by many politicians, especially in the South and Mid-West, as code for racism, anti-women, anti-gay, and anti-poverty.
And that is where such phenomena as income inequality, dismal life expectancy, inadequate education, anti-abortion, anti-gay rhetoric and policies prevail."

Spot on, and the problem is the bible can be used to justify all those positions.

I've a feeling any Golf news in the closing hours of 2014 would only be bad, so let's hope there's none of that.

So Happy New Year, Happy Hogmanay,

Cheers

Has anyone had a look at the current olympic qualification standings?

http://www.igfgolf.org/olympic-games/ogr-men/

That is one seriously weak field at first glance. The Mericans are the only country with the maximum 4 qualifiers, as they have 4 in the top 15.

Speaking as a food-loving Brit living in USA, I find the food over here, particularly the variety, is excellent as long as you stay away from fast food. Americans who criticize British food as being bland have generally not been over there for quite some time. I remember my grandmother's cooking  -- not much variety, vegetables were cooked until they were greay and mushy, but her pasties couldn't be beat.  I think British food has come a long way in my life-time in terms of quality and variety.  If I get nostalgic for my old favourites and don't feel like cooking I can get a pretty decent cottage pie, liver & onions, fish & chips etc., I also regularly enjoy Italian, French, Greek, all within walking distance.  But when we cross the pond the first meal I look for is always always ham, egg, and chips with a decent pint.

Happy New Year everyone.  

Looks like most of the notables South Africans will be playing the SA Open next week.  Sunshine Tour Flagship event and co-sanctioned by the Euro Tour.

Ernie, Charl, Grace, Sterne, Coetzee are playing.

But no King Louis.  Tim Clarke and Rory Sabbatini are skipping it as well but I don't think they have been back to South Africa to play a tournament in a long long time.

No highly ranked Euros are playing either that I could find.

A couple of Lawrie's and a couple of former US Amateur champions (Uihlein and Fitzpatrick)

http://sunshinetour.com/?page_id=20613&report=entry&season=214S&tourn=SAOP

The time of year when Sith Efrikins tend to thrive, right up until about April time.

GPB,
I think Timmy will be at Kapalua, plus he's enjoyed success at Waialae and Humana. SA Open Champion at least twice though.

No doubt lil Timmy will be in Maui and Oahu, but it has been a long time since he has played a SA tournament. IIRC.

If I am going to criticize Jason Day for making few trips down-under, SAFFERS that don't journey back to their homeland will get my attention too.

Part of the reason these guys are doing so well in the World of Golf is the Junior Golf Programs which are mostly financed by regional golf associations.  IMO, they are obligated to go back and support their homeland tournaments.

I wonder when is the last time Sabbatini has gone back to South Africa (maybe they don't want him).

A bit unfair on Tim Clark given his injuries the past few years - think he played the Mandela event a couple of years ago - 2011 or 2012? Probably been out of commission most of the rest of the time.
Sabbatini's another kettle of fish entirely - don't think he's played in SA professionallymore than once or twice, if that, since he left for Arizona.

Happy new year to one and all! When do we start the masters build up?

I think you just did! Happy New Year, ben.

beninho wrote:Happy new year to one and all! When do we start the masters build up?

99 days til Jack, Arnie and Gary hit the ceremonial tee shots.

Maybe 9C will be a ceremonial tee shot too.

Happy New Year all...

And speaking of American cuisine... who in the HECK came up with black eyed peas and cabbage for a New Years day meal... I don't know if this is just an American thing or if some of you Euro's are stuck with the same ghastly awful tasting tradition...

I love Black Eyed Peas and Cabbage!

It was a long time before I would eat Black Eyed peas though.  When I was about 5 yrs old, Mom was cooking green peas (which I liked) while getting ready to go out on the town.  She let the water evaporate out of the pan and the green peas were burned badly.  with a big singe mark on each of the peas.

When I said I didn't like them, she was getting impatient, and snapped at  me to eat my black-eyed peas.

Years later, she denied she ever did this, but I remember it distinctly.  One of my earliest memories.

And yes Happy New Year to everyone.  I will even eat Hog Jowls.

Never heard of Black Eyed Peas as a New Year dish in Europe. Steak Pie is quite a traditional new year meal in Scotland, and Ham too.